Ms. Dyana Kristel Ratsimivony from Madagascar and Ms. Mame Khary Diene from Senegal were accompanied by Catherine Aglaure and Clara Martinez from the World Affairs Council of Oregon. We gave the visitors a quick tour of our operations facility and general office when they arrived in the afternoon. Our Alima elves were busy receiving and fulfilling online and wholesale orders, wrapping and packaging products with loving care and shipping the boxes worldwide. They caught a glimpse of the real behind-the-scenes action of a local Portland makeup company!

Back at the office, Alima’s Creative Director Terresa color matched each visitor to their ideal foundation shade out of our complete collection of 61 colors. Ms. Ratsimivony’s skintone had a bit more yellow, so she was matched in our Satin Matte Foundation as a Warm 6. Ms. Diene, having a bit of a blue undertone, was matched with a Cool 9 in our mineral foundation. Of course, we couldn’t let our visitors leave without a bit of complimentary blush to cheeks for that extra glow. You can view all four matches in the photos below:

This year, 30 female participants began the program in Chicago, and then split into smaller groups based on their expertise and interests to travel to Portland, Seattle, Los Angeles, and Albuquerque. The entire AWEP group then came together to travel to New York City and Washington, DC at the conclusion of the trip.

A total of seven visitors came to Portland for the weeklong visit as part of the professional exchange program organized by Meridian International Center and the U.S. Department of State. The visit included many popular stops around town, including Sur La Table, Nordstrom, and of course, yours truly.

Here is a bit more information about our two lovely visitors:

Ms. Dyana Kristel Ratsimivony is the general manager at Vaniala, a wellness center and natural cosmetics salon in Antananrivo, Madagascar. In addition to this position, Ms. Ratsimivony is also Head of Homeopharma Laboratory’s Cosmetics Department and in charge of the laboratory’s research on cosmetics derived from natural products. Currently, she is investing in acquiring adequate technology, partnerships, and the necessary certification to allow her to export her natural cosmetics line to international markets.

Ms. Mame Khary Diene is the founder and CEO of Bioessence Laboratories, a company that produces organic cosmetics and nutraceuticals. She is also a member of the Senegalese Association of Women Entrepreneurs (UFCE) and currently serves as its Vice President of Communications. Ms. Diene is interested in learning more about the U.S. business environment to exchange best businesses practices with her American counterparts on supply chain values, public relations and business management.

Alima Pure was so thrilled to help these women find their color match! We enjoyed the visit tremendously and hope to welcome more visitors in the future.

About the World Affairs Council of Oregon

World Affairs Council of Oregon is a non-profit, non-partisan organization that works to education the public on world affairs issues, which includes an official International Visitor and Training Program that hosts about 500 international visitors from more than 120 countries each year. Their mission to “Connect Oregonians to the World” has earned the council the title of “Most Dynamic Mid-Sized Council in the U.S.” by the members of the World Affairs Councils of America. To learn more, visit their website at www.worldoregon.org.

About the IVLP & AWEP

The African Women’s Entrepreneurship Program (AWEP) is a special initiative of the International Visitor Leadership Program. Now in its fourth year, AWEP elevates women entrepreneurs across sub-Saharan Africa who are transforming their societies through business and social advocacy within their communities. The participants travel to cities across the United States to visit local businesses, incubators, schools, and non-governmental organizations. For more information on the program, please contact the Bureau of Educational and Cultural Affairs at eca-press@state.gov.